


The Gap of Two Heart-Sized Hands

by SilentWaves



Category: One Piece
Genre: Established Relationship, Feelings, Germa 66, M/M, My First Fanfic, Spoilers, it's sad for like 3 seconds then it's happy again, listen i have a lot of feelings ok, mentions some other strawhats, more specifically nami, outside pov, spoilers up to the sanzo reunion in wano, they talk about their feelings, zeff is sanji's father and it was like one line but it's important
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-11 13:43:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20547125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentWaves/pseuds/SilentWaves
Summary: They say that a fist is a close approximation of the size of your heart.Nami's noticed that Sanji and Zoro have had trouble taking that first big step in their relationship. Sanji's too hesitant, and Zoro's too blockheaded to notice that they both want to kiss.Nami observes until she's needed to speak up, and she does.(Spoiler: they kiss at the end)





	The Gap of Two Heart-Sized Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Y'all first pairing fic!! Ever!!! This was so wild I just sat down and realized that I heckin' love Sanji and Zoro cause they just respect each other so much, y'know? And I really hoped that came across here while still having them stay in character.   
On one hand, I tried to make it not too mushy but then I kinda couldn't help myself.  
Also lmao a kiss is like,,, really tame but I thought it was sweet concept lol.

Nami is a very observant person.

She was the first one to notice when Sanji started trying to become friends with Zoro after Thriller Bark, and the first to notice when Zoro wanted to be more.

She noticed the complete faith that the two had in each other while fighting. Their confidence in each other’s strength. That being said, the few times the Zoro manages to get hurt is when Sanji started fussing more over the nutrients in their meals. Nami would notice a drastic decrease in sweets but a sharp increase in protein-filled foods. Similarly, whenever it was Sanji that got hurt, Nami noticed Zoro “going away to train” when it was blatantly obvious that he was headed to the kitchen to keep the cook company, and to assist with the cooking. And even though the food was objectively worse whenever that happened, they were both happy.

They revealed their relationship while leaving Fishman Island, and nobody was surprised.

Things didn’t change much after that, Nami noticed. They still fought on a regular basis, only with less insults and fighting more to train than to harm. Sanji still flirted with the girls and Zoro seemed to find it all very amusing. The crew didn’t seem all that surprised, though Usopp seemed to be more on-edge than usual (“damn they were scary enough on their own which god thought it was a good idea to combine them”) and nobody was all that sure that Luffy understood what the point of a romance was when they were having the time of their lives sailing around the world.

There was one thing though, and it’s that Nami has never seen them kiss.

Or anything, really, and it’s not that Nami doesn’t recognize their boundaries, because (and she shudders to even think of this) she never wants to walk in on them doing, well, anything like that, ‘cause those are her brothers but… she expected to see at least something. 

Usually couples in her novels hold hands, kiss, gaze into each other’s eyes because the world just disappears when they’re in the same room… and really, Zoro and Sanji didn’t seem like the type, but oh-they are.

Again, Nami never sees them kiss, but they’re never not finding excuses to touch each other. Whether it’s hands brushing against the other’s, or standing back to back as they fight, or Zoro taking a nap in the kitchen while Sanji takes every opportunity to gently nudge Zoro’s legs whenever he walks by him… two thirds of the Monster Trio are surprisingly affectionate. 

Not to mention the way they look at each other. Nami’s pretty smart, she’ll humbly admit, but it doesn’t take a genius like her to notice the way they stare at each other. Sanji looks at Zoro like he’s found his All Blue over and over again, while Zoro in return looks at Sanji as if he’d reconsider his religion to explain the angel standing in front of him. Even (no, especially) when they’re fighting enemies, they just stare at each other with such love and awe and pride that Nami’s not sure if anymore if their new moves just to show off.

So none of this explains why they never kiss. Maybe they were just very private and didn’t want the crew seeing them be intimate - which - fair, Nami would understand that, but what they already do is so much more intimate than any lip-locking could ever achieve. Not to mention that Sanji just has this… air to him.

They’ll be bickering or fighting (maybe training? Nami’s still not entirely sure what that’s about, but they seem to enjoy themselves) and then Sanji will lean in - just a smidge. Enough to indicate maybe he wants something more than hand-holding, but either Zoro’s not into that or he doesn’t get the hint (most likely the latter, Nami thinks), but he never closes that gap.

As soon as Nami noticed, it became more and more apparent. Sanji was trying to work up the courage to kiss Zoro, and Zoro never seemed to get the hint.

It almost became amusing, for Nami once brought up the topic of kissing with Zoro and he couldn’t do much but blush and shoo Nami away, proving that he’d be just as into it as Sanji would be, but he was just too blockheaded to notice Sanji’s attempts.

The arrival at Dressrosa would have been almost comical, if she wasn’t so scared for her life. The country of lovers and passion? This was the place. For sure, this was when they would kiss and seal that final, tiny gap between them. They’d sit at a cafe, look around, and just lean in, or they’d walk down the street holding hands and before they know it their lips would be touching, and then, finally, they would have sealed their affections with a soft brush of skin.

Being on a different team, and having more important matters (Caesar and Doflamingo’s family and art and oh god are those supposed to be fish swimming around that bridge??), Nami didn’t notice, or even think about Sanji and Zoro until Sanji came back to the ship, and they left for Zou.

Nami wasn’t sure when to bring anything up. After all, they didn’t know if everyone else was safe and sound (but there’s Luffy and Zoro and Franky and - well, she realized that there was no reason to worry), and they focused on Zou.

She realized it was an even worse time to bring it up when Bege Capone came and took Sanji away to marry one of Big Mom’s daughters.

She obviously went with Luffy to help save Sanji; they were crewmates, after all, and Zoro wouldn't admit it, but just watching Sanji exchange vows instead of doing it alongside him would greatly upset him - maybe even enough to cry.

It’s not until they arrive in Wano that Nami starts to worry for their relationship. Does Zoro know about Sanji’s past? His family? Would he be upset that Sanji didn’t trust him enough to share? Or ashamed of not noticing Sanji’s pain whenever he sees a happy family together? Or maybe the pain of allowing himself to get sent off to get married to a random girl from another pirate crew will make him shut himself out entirely?

It doesn’t matter how observant Nami is; this is one weather pattern she won’t be able to predict.

When they do arrive in Wano, Nami’s ashamed to say that she was relieved that Zoro seemed to have gotten himself lost again. She would like to delay this meeting as much as possible, but Sanji seemed to want the opposite. He’d turn his head whenever he heard a low voice, or catch a glimpse of green from the corner of his eye, or see the “Zorojuro” wanted posters pasted around town.

The suspense around the town square was so thick you wouldn’t be able to cut it with a knife. As the citizens watched as the young girl was about to be killed for mourning her father, two monsters stepped in.

Leg flaming and the other’s swords drawn, Sanji and Zoro stared at each other with the most tangible tension Nami’s ever witnessed between the two of them. For now, they’d resolve this fight, as they usually do, and converse for the first time in what feels like forever.

It’s awkward. The silence is heavy yet the strategy meeting continued. It’s alright that no-one was paying attention. After all, Luffy would find some way to stray from the strategy no matter how meticulously planned out it was. It was later that night, when Luffy declared a mini pre-battle party to celebrate the crew getting back together again, that the tension between the two had become too much for Nami to bear.

“Zoro, Sanji. Do you two have anything you’d like to discuss?” She brought up, anxious. The two turned to look at her, along with the other Strawhats. “It’s just that - well - you two have been awfully quiet, which is unusual. Not that it’s a bad thing, mind you, but… is there anything on your mind?”

“Nothing,” Sanji replied, after waiting a few beats too long. “There’s nothing to say, Nami dear, since all that got resolved back at Whole Cake Island.”

“If all that got resolved, then what’s that fancy new suit you got there?” Zoro said, badly covering up his curiosity. 

“That is… personal. It’s all done and in the past now so none of you have to worry about it anymore.”

“I’m worrying about it,” Zoro drew the ‘X’ on his left arm. “What happened to the trust between shipmates? And at the very least, don’t you trust me? Or am I just-I don’t know- some kinda sidestop while you search for a woman who actually wants you?”

“Well if you’re bringing it up then I’ll gladly tell you all about Pudding! She was a baker who enjoyed my food and my company! And we would have gotten married if I didn’t care enough about this crew to come back!” 

“Stop it!” Nami shouted. She was sick of this. Petty arguments in good humour she was alright with, but they’ve never tried to really hurt each other during their fights, and the gap between the two seemed wider than ever. “You two are the absolute worst at expressing yourselves and you know it! Now, can you talk out your feelings in a calm manner or do I need to play babysitter?”

The party ended then, and everyone left the room to allow Zoro and Sanji some space to heal. 

It was the middle of the night when Nami went back to grab some water that she heard their voices, soft and apologetic.

“...I’m sorry. You deserve better than me. You deserve better than a failure.” It was Sanji.

“Shut up. You’re anything but a failure. From what I understand, at least you have feelings. Maybe too many”

“Enough feeling to fall for a dumb moss-head like you”

“Whatever, dart-brow. Anyways, you know that you can tell us anything, right? Especially me. There’s no reason for me to judge any of the crap you do, as long as it’s not like that self-sacrificing bullshit you pulled back there”

“It - it wasn’t self-sacrificing bullshit. There was nothing else I could do-”

“What? You think Luffy wouldn’t even think twice about sailing back to East Blue to defend your dad? The restaurant? And what about us? You think we wouldn’t be able to handle ourselves against some science freaks who rely on suits for power?”

“...says the swordsman.” They laugh. “And that’s what that thing was, by the way. They gave me my own suit. It lets me go invisible”

“Well, I guess that proves you don’t need a devil fruit to accomplish your dreams. Who needs All Blue when you can look at boobs all da-”

A soft thud. Gentle. Nami could almost call it a love tap. She hears them conversing like that, soft enough to be considered affectionate, but still with enough energy to be considered an argument (albeit a gentle argument), and while she knows they both have observation haki, she herself has observed enough to know that they’d be too focused on each other to even notice if a meteor crashed right in front of them.

They laugh, and that gap grows smaller. They apologize, and they grow closer. They tease each other, and by then the gap has reached the meager size of two fists. 

One fist now, because Nami could see Sanji leaning in.

Zoro seems to get the message this time, and closes the distance.

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! There it is! I'm pretty happy with it all things considered!   
Please let me know if there's anything I can improve on or if there's anything in particular that you liked!
> 
> Leave a Kudos if you enjoyed, don't if you didn't (I promise I won't be sad)!


End file.
